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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Widely
considered one of the greatest athletes of his generation, LeBron
James’ extraordinary basketball skills and dedication to the game
have won him the admiration of fans across the globe and have made
him an international icon.

James
plays himself who’s written in the script as the best friend of
Bill Hader’s sports doctor character, Aaron. Apatow explains the
logic of casting King James: “Aaron’s best friend in the world is
LeBron James, and so, in the movie, whenever Aaron talks about his
relationship problems, he’s talking about them with LeBron. We had
an idea that, what if it just happened to be the greatest basketball
player that ever lived?”

Hader
had worked with James in 2007 when the basketball legend hosted the
season premiere of Saturday Night Live, and accompanied
Apatow to a lunch with James to discuss the part. “Bill and I went
out to lunch one day with him to pitch this idea,” Apatow recalls.
“He was hilarious and totally got the joke.”

Although
James had never taken on such a large acting role, he was game for
the challenge. “They said, ‘You’re going to play yourself, and
I told them that I can do that easily,” says James. “I can just
show up and say, ‘I’m LeBron. I play basketball. I can shoot some
jumpers, and I can dunk.’ They said, ‘No. You’re actually going
to be Bill’s best friend in the movie, and you’re going to be a
love doctor who helps him patch things up with his girlfriend.’”

In
the comedy, James is far too interested in Aaron’s life and his
relationships. He’s always the doctor, following up and trying to
understand why Aaron’s making certain decisions. Happy that Aaron
has finally found a girlfriend, James is also extremely protective of
his pal. Says the relatively new thespian: “Amy is a bit of a
trainwreck, and she sends my best friend, Aaron, through a collision
course mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But you got
to go through pitfalls in order to get what you want, and that’s
the best part of this flick.”

The
entire production assumed that it would receive nothing but
professionalism from the well-respected athlete, but they had no idea
he could be so, so spot-on with his comic timing. Still, it was a bit
humbling to realize with whom they were working. “We had a
fantastic time shooting this movie with LeBron,” adds Apatow. “It
was funny, because while he was shooting every day, just in the chair
next to us was the Babe Ruth of basketball.”

For
his part, LeBron James quickly acclimated to Apatow’s shooting
style. “When you get on set with Judd, it’s free-flowing,” the
performer explains.

And
as it turns out that Apatow and Schumer weren’t the only improv
masters on set. James wasn’t about to allow a strictly
choreographed and tightly framed basketball game to appear in his
first feature comedy. Two buddies getting together to shoot some
hoops is something quite different when your best friend is LeBron
James. Hader laughs: “In one scene we play one-on-one together,
which is in every romantic comedy: Two guys play one-on-one while
they talk about relationships. But LeBron didn’t hold back at all.
He just kicked the sh*t out of me.”

“That
turned out not too well for him,” James returns. “That’s my
best friend, but listen, I take no prisoners.”

In
“Trainwreck,” it’s been drilled into Amy’s (Schumer) head
ever since she was a little girl that monogamy isn’t realistic. Now
a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo—enjoying what she feels
is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic
commitment—but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut. When she
finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article
she’s writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron
Conners (Bill Hader), Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups,
including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to
something.

Distributed
by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures,
“Trainwreck” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas
nationwide starting August 26.